Keep an Eye on Your Expenses

If your small business starts to take off, it could become tougher to monitor all of your expenses.

Here are a few places to look for “leaky bucket” expenses, unnecessary recurring costs that you may not be fully aware of, courtesy of Joe Taylor Jr. at Small Business Computing.

Keep an eye on how your advertising campaigns perform. With Google, Facebook, Twitter and other companies making it easier than ever to run self-service ad campaigns, it’s easy for business owners to “set and forget” their advertising campaigns. Regularly review your analytics to ensure that you’re paying for quality clicks that convert into sales.

Subscriptions to magazines, clubs, websites, software and services can add up, and you may even be paying for duplicate services without realizing it. List every membership and its benefits, consolidate them wherever possible, and eliminate the ones you don’t use enough to justify the expense.

Consider dropping credit cards that charge you a fee unless they pay you significant rebates, travel rewards, or other services that save your company money. If you pay on time, consider switching to a credit card that offers cash back or “trade terms” that rebate your account.

Monitor phone and Internet service charges. If you signed up under a teaser rate that has disappeared, request a new promotion or review competitive options, and consider consolidating all of your services with a single provider. And watch your wireless bills for errant charges.

Watch office supplies, kitchen pantry refills, coffee services and the like for unnecessary charges or excessive stockpiling. And if you buy these things in bulk, you may not need to pay shipping or delivery charges.